Scour
['skaʊə] or ['skaʊɚ]
Definition
(noun.) a place that is scoured (especially by running water).
(verb.) rub hard or scrub; 'scour the counter tops'.
(verb.) examine minutely; 'The police scoured the country for the fugitive'.
Typed by Edmund--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To rub hard with something rough, as sand or Bristol brick, especially for the purpose of cleaning; to clean by friction; to make clean or bright; to cleanse from grease, dirt, etc., as articles of dress.
(v. t.) To purge; as, to scour a horse.
(v. t.) To remove by rubbing or cleansing; to sweep along or off; to carry away or remove, as by a current of water; -- often with off or away.
(v. t.) To pass swiftly over; to brush along; to traverse or search thoroughly; as, to scour the coast.
(v. i.) To clean anything by rubbing.
(v. i.) To cleanse anything.
(v. i.) To be purged freely; to have a diarrhoea.
(v. i.) To run swiftly; to rove or range in pursuit or search of something; to scamper.
(n.) Diarrhoea or dysentery among cattle.
Typed by Elroy
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Clean (by friction), make bright.[2]. Range over, brush along, pass swiftly over.[3]. Purge (violently).[4]. Rake, search closely.
v. n. Course, career, scamper, range, run swiftly.
Inputed by Clinton
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Purge, cleanse, rinse, scrub
ANT:Soil, begrime, besmear, foul, pollute, {[aefile]?}, dirt
Editor: Sasha
Definition
v.i. to run with swiftness: to scurry along.—v.t. to run quickly over.—n. Scour′er a footpad.
v.t. to clean by rubbing with something rough: to cleanse from grease or dirt: to remove by rubbing: to cleanse by a current: to search thoroughly by scrubbing: to cleanse by brushing: to purge drastically.—n. the action of a strong current in a narrow channel: violent purging.—ns. Scour′age refuse water after scouring; Scour′er drastic cathartic; Scour′ing in angling the freshening of angle-worms for bait by putting them in clean sand; Scour′ing-ball a ball composed of soap &c. for removing stains of grease.—n.pl. Scour′ing-drops a mixture of oil of turpentine and oil of lemon used for removing stains.—ns. Scour′ing-rush one of the horse-tails; Scour′ing-stock in woollen manufacture an apparatus in which cloths are treated to remove the oil and to cleanse them in the process of manufacture.
Inputed by Bernard
Examples
- And her pleasure was to ride the young colts, and to scour the plains like Camilla. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- This summer Bonaparte is in the saddle; he and his host scour Russian deserts. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Finding ourselves now posted securely, and having a place to retreat to on occasion, we ventured out in parties to scour the adjacent country. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- Moreover, the soil is no longer protected from the scour of rain, and is washed away, leaving only barren rock beneath. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- I can cook yet, and scrub, and scour,--I'm wuth a buying, if I do come cheap;--tell em dat ar,--you _tell_ em, she added, earnestly. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- The leather is then thrown into the water again, scoured upon a stone till the white substance called bloom is forced out, then rubbed with a greasy substance and hung up to dry. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Now, sartin I'd a said that Missis would a scoured the varsal world after Lizy, added Sam, thoughtfully. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Together we ran to the gardens, but even though we scoured the grounds with the entire guard for hours, no trace could we find of the night marauder. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- The next morning Archer scoured the town in vain for more yellow roses. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- The dog advanced, retreated, paused an instant, and scoured away at his hardest speed. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- All about me was spotless and bright--scoured floor, polished grate, and well-rubbed chairs. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- The moor is being scoured for these gypsies. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- He and Dobbin stumbled over their pails in the passages as they were scouring the decks of the Royal George. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- I am myself a born and bred lady through it all, even though it comes to scouring a floor, or washing dishes. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- His ideas are not clean, Mr. Moore; they want scouring with soft soap and fuller's earth. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- They are then finished by scouring and rubbing over with olive oil and turpentine. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
Checker: Sigmund